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Why the Premier League Has Boxing Day Games
Key Takeaways
- Boxing Day matches are a Premier League tradition dating back to 1888
- Teams gift fans with goal fests on Boxing Day, with memorable scorelines
- Top teams like Manchester United look to add points on Boxing Day fixtures
Whilst many of the top leagues in European football have a winter break where they have time off to celebrate the festivities with their family and friends, the Premier League doubles down on playing. As such, the schedule is hectic for the players, but for the fans, it’s one of the most exciting periods of the season.
With December approaching, and the November international break having concluded, all 20 teams are preparing for a busy month of football, with the English top flight having chosen to abandon the winter break they trialled in the 2019/20 and 2023/24 campaigns.
One thing hasn’t strayed from tradition, though, and that is Boxing Day games, with eight festive fixtures being played up and down the country on December 26th this year. But what exactly is Boxing Day, and why does the Premier League insist on playing matches the day after Christmas?
The Premier League Tradition
Boxing Day is a term that has been traced back to Charles Dickens, who reportedly coined it in the Victorian era, and refers to when the rich would box up gifts to give to the poor, or their servants, whom they would also grant a day off to on the day after Christmas. This was so that they could go to their families in the form of Christmas boxes. Nowadays, it is a public bank holiday in the UK.
Football has long been a mainstay of Boxing Day, though long before TVs were in households, matches were even played on Christmas Day as well, though that tradition ended in England in1965, with festive fixtures solely being played the following day, ushering in a new tradition, and what we are familiar with today.
The first Boxing Day fixtures were said to have taken place in 1888, when Derby Country hosted Bolton Wanderers, and Preston North End visited West Brom. Since then, over 4,000 matches have been played on that day.
Manchester United are the most successful team on Boxing Day in terms of points scored, having picked up 174 points with a 52W-27L-18D record across their 97 games. This year, they will be looking to add to that tally when they travel to the Molineux Stadium to face Wolves.
Boxing Day Premier League Fixtures – 2024/25 | ||
|---|---|---|
Match | Stadium | Kick-Off Time (GMT) |
Manchester City vs Everton | Etihad Stadium | 12:30pm |
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace | Vitality Stadium | 3:00pm |
Chelsea vs Fulham | Stamford Bridge | 3:00pm |
Newcastle vs Aston Villa | St James’ Park | 3:00pm |
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur | The City Ground | 3:00pm |
Southampton vs West Ham United | St Mary’s Stadium | 3:00pm |
Wolves vs Manchester United | Molineux Stadium | 5:30pm |
Liverpool vs Leicester City | Anfield | 8:00pm |
Related
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Goal Fests
Some of the league’s most infamous goals were scored on Boxing Day
When it comes to Boxing Day games, teams all across the league appear to want to gift their fans with a lot of goals.
For example, in 1963, across 10 First Division games, 66 goals were scored, with Ipswich Town on the wrong end of a 10-1 scoreline against Fulham, whilst on that same day, Burnley beat Man United 6-1, Blackburn won 8-2 away at West Ham, and West Brom forced a 4-4 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
In the Premier League era, though, the highest-scoring Boxing Day fixture was when Manchester City triumphed over Leicester City in a 6-3 victory, with Raheem Sterling scoring a brace, while Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Riyad Mahrez all got on the scoresheet.
Former Spurs striker Harry Kane holds the record for most goals scored on Boxing Day with 10, of which he scored in seven consecutive appearances -the longest run in league history.
But while there have been many memorable scorelines, there have also been some goals scored that are etched into Premier League folklore, such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kick against Sunderland, or Andy Cole’s emphatic long-range effort for Blackburn against Liverpool in 2002.
But perhaps no Boxing Day goal is as memorable as that of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s scorpion strike that defied gravity, again against Sunderland when playing for Man United in 2016.
All in all, Boxing Day is a highlight day on the football calendar for fans across the UK, and with eight fixtures to be played this year, who will be next to etch their name into the history books?
Information gathered from Premier League unless otherwise stated – correct as of 29/11/24.
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ACRE
Startup Day-2026 ocorre na Ufac em 21/03 no Centro de Convivência — Universidade Federal do Acre
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A lógica de valor da Thryqenon (TRYQN) é apoiar a evolução da economia verde por meio de sua infraestrutura digital de energia
A Ufac inaugurou a campanha internacional Banco Vermelho, símbolo de conscientização sobre o feminicídio. A ação integra iniciativas inspiradas na lei n.º 14.942/2024 e contempla a instalação, nos campi da instituição, de três bancos pintados de vermelho, que representa o sangue derramado pelas vítimas. A inauguração ocorreu nesta segunda-feira, 9, no hall da Reitoria.
São dois bancos no campus-sede (um no hall da Reitoria e outro no bloco Jorge Kalume), além de um no campus Floresta, em Cruzeiro do Sul. A reitora Guida Aquino destacou que a instalação dos bancos reforça o papel da universidade na promoção de campanhas e políticas de conscientização sobre a violência contra a mulher. “A violência não se caracteriza apenas em matar, também se caracteriza em gestos, em fala, em atitudes.”
A secretária de Estado da Mulher, Márdhia El-Shawwa, ressaltou a importância de a Ufac incorporar o debate sobre o feminicídio em seus espaços institucionais e defendeu a atuação conjunta entre universidade, governo e sociedade. Segundo ela, a violência contra a mulher não pode ser naturalizada e a conscientização precisa alcançar também a formação de crianças e adolescentes.
A inauguração do Banco Vermelho também ocorre no contexto da aprovação da resolução do Conselho Universitário n.º 266, de 21/01/2026, que institui normas para a efetividade da política de prevenção e combate ao assédio moral, sexual, discriminações e outras violências, principalmente no que se refere a mulheres, população negra, indígena, pessoas com deficiência e LGBTQIAPN+ no âmbito da Ufac em local físico ou virtual relacionado.
No campus Floresta, em Cruzeiro do Sul, a inauguração do Banco Vermelho contou com a participação da coordenadora do Centro de Referência Brasileiro da Mulher, Anequele Monteiro.
Participaram da solenidade, no campus-sede, a pró-reitora de Desenvolvimento e Gestão de Pessoas, Filomena Maria Cruz; a pró-reitora de Graduação, Ednaceli Damasceno; a pró-reitora de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação, Margarida Carvalho; a coordenadora do projeto de extensão Infância Segura, Alcione Groff; o secretário de Estado de Saúde, Pedro Pascoal; a defensora pública e chefe do Núcleo de Promoção da Defesa dos Direitos Humanos da Mulher, Diversidade Sexual e Gênero da DPE-AC, Clara Rúbia Roque; e o chefe do Centro de Apoio Operacional de Proteção à Mulher do MP-AC, Victor Augusto Silva.
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